Michael Evans was standing in line at the Treasurer's Office last August, waiting to pay his taxes, when he heard a(n) 1 sound ahead of him. The elderly woman at the window was crying. He heard the cashier 2the woman that her house was in foreclosure (丧失抵押品赎回) and headed for auction (拍卖). He also heard the woman tell the cashier that her daughter had recently died. Evans, a businessman who had just buried his father, couldn't3the idea of this woman losing her home4after losing her child. He5the window. "I don't mean to butt in," he said to the cashier, "but6you can get her house back, I'll pay for her taxes." The amount added up to $5,000.
The old woman was shocked. Her despair turned to7. The cashier left for a moment to8 that it was all right for Evans to pay it. Evans promised to go9to the bank and come back with the money. But when he returned to the treasurer's office, he asked x ue ke wa ng someone else waiting in line to hand the $5,000 check to the cashier. Evans was trying to10quietly and, preferably, anonymously (匿名地).
"I didn't want this attention," he explained.
11, attention found him. It's not every day that someone pays a stranger's tax bill. As is reported, Evans often finds himself on the giving end of charitable situations, though for years he went unrecognized for it. 12paying the elderly woman's taxes, Evans said he did it for 13 but to make sure the lady stayed in her own house.
A few weeks after the tax14, Evans received the Spirit of Detroit Award for his lifetime of 15. Again, he didn't want the attention, but his son felt the honor was overdue. "It was good to see my dad finally get the16he deserves," his son said. Michael Evans is nearing 60 and will retire soon. Before he does, he hopes that his son will17him in a fund-raiser to pay for a wheelchair for a boy with an incurable bone disease. And he'll continue to18 the local youth football league team, paying for their equipment, uniforms, and out-of-state travel. His son is willing to19 the business, saying that he20his life after his father.
